


Old Scars/Future Hearts

by not_quite_anonymous



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Dorks in Love, Fluff, M/M, Scars, Skateboarding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:40:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29782467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_quite_anonymous/pseuds/not_quite_anonymous
Summary: Langa is new to skateboarding and complains about getting scars. Reki shows him that they're nothing to be afraid of.
Relationships: Hasegawa Langa/Kyan Reki
Comments: 12
Kudos: 120





	Old Scars/Future Hearts

**Author's Note:**

> my first sk8 the infinity fanfic! i love this show so much and i'm praying that we get a happy ending  
> title from [this All Time Low song](https://youtu.be/xnoJ_0lk_5w)

Langa’s palms stung as they hit the ground yet again. He groaned, barely managing the energy to stop his skateboard from rolling away before flopping onto the hard concrete of the skatepark.

“How are your hands not shredded to pieces? You really do this all the time?”

Reki laughed, easily kicking up off his skateboard and grabbing it before jogging over to Langa. He reached out his hand, but seeing Langa’s face contort in pain after grasping onto his bruised palm, Reki quickly loosened his grip and gently tugged on Langa’s wrists instead.

Langa pulled back, tilting his head back so he was looking right up at Reki. “Can we take a quick break? My knees are killing me.”

Reki opened his mouth, about to launch into a “well when  _ I _ first started skating” speech, but seeing Langa’s wide blue eyes only inches from his own he lost all track of what he was about to say. Looking away, Reki gave in and sat down beside Langa, propping his skateboard up beside the other boy’s and lying parallel to it so that he was lined up with Langa, close enough that if he were to turn his head his nose would brush against the blue strands of his hair. 

Shaking his head to get rid of  _ that _ thought, Reki kept his gaze focused adamantly at the sky, watching the orange tinted clouds float lazily across the pink-streaked evening sky. “You’re doing well for someone who has only been skateboarding for a week, you know. Natural talent,” Reki joked. “Who knows, maybe soon you’ll be far ahead of me.”

Langa laughed breathily, and Reki tried to ignore the feeling of his warm breath tickling his ear. “Me? I could never be as good as you, Reki. I can’t even do an ollie without falling on my face.”

“But you’ve got the balance, and the intuition, and the creativity, plus the insane strength from snowboarding. You could be the next big skater, go up against Miya, hell, even Adam.”

Langa turned his head, pausing to mentally trace over Reki’s side profile: sloped nose, soft jawline, and fire-red hair tucked into a sweaty headband. He resisted the urge to shuffle closer to him. After a long pause, he finally puffed out another laugh. “Sounds a hell of a lot like admiration, Reki. Don’t go and fall in love with me.”

Reki could feel the warmth in his cheeks, something he definitely couldn’t blame on the few hours of skating that they’d been doing together. “Um, how are your hands? My mom made me pack some bandages in my bag in case you got hurt.” He prayed that the topic change would work.

“I don't think my mom even knows that I’m here,” Langa admitted guiltily, avoiding eye contact with Reki by examining his hands. There were a few patches of red and bits of skin that had been rubbed away from the countless falls he’d taken. He should really invest in some gloves.

Reki propped himself on his elbows and took Langa’s hands in his own and Langa breathed out a sigh at how nice the cool fingers felt against his burning skin. He carefully turned them over, poking at a few of the bruises and brushing away some dirt. Langa winced, but it was honestly quite painless (Reki’s fingers were deft, having dealt with delicate skateboard parts for months). Finally, he lifted his head and smiled at Langa, who blinked in surprise.

“It’s all good! Just some surface scratches. Barely any blood, scaredy cat. But I’ll get some bandages anyway.” Reki was already skating away before he had finished his sentence.

Langa picked at a patch of skin, wondering if it would scar.

“They won’t leave scars, if that’s what you’re wondering,” Reki said while tossing him a pack of Band-Aids, as if reading his mind. “The worst you’ll get will be a couple days of itchiness. But if you want to see some  _ real _ scars, check these out.”

Reki rolled up his right sleeve, showing a patch of scaly skin just below his elbow. “When I first started skateboarding I was too scared to go down the ramp, so I would stall at the top for a while… long enough to make the others want to push me down, I guess.” He laughed, but it sounded strained. “I tore up my forearm pretty badly trying to catch myself… Langa?”

Langa had reached out and was gently tracing over the skin, marvelling at the rough texture. “You’re better than them now though, right?”

“Uh, sure? I don’t know, I haven’t gone to that particular skatepark since then.”

“Will you take me sometime?”

“If you want?” Reki furrowed his brows.

“Do you have any others?”

“Yeah, on my leg here.” Reki pointed to a silvery line standing out against his tanned knee. “First race, I was too full of myself and thought I could beat this other guy, but ended up losing control going way too fast around a corner. I’m lucky that I only came out of it with a cut and not a broken arm.”

“Races sound terrifying.” Langa mused out loud.

“They are at first, but as long as you know your limits and don’t get blinded by your opponent they’re one of the best ways to improve. Why do you think so many people do them?”

“Masochism? Loss of sanity?” Langa proposed, eyebrow raised.

“Is that what you think of skaters?” Reki joked right back, jabbing Langa in the side.

“Yeah.” 

Reki gasped in fake shock, pretending to faint to the ground before he realized he was already lying down. “Oh, there’s one last one.”

Langa drew closer as Reki tilted his head back, pointing to a spot a little under his chin. “This one was all my fault. I was trying a new trick on the rail but lost balance and fell on my face like an idiot. I’m glad I don’t have to look at it every day and be reminded of my stupidity though.”

There it was, just the smallest jagged line. Langa squinted, scooting even closer to pick out the shape. Reki’s breath ruffled his hair, short quick puffs of air even though they had been sitting for a long while at this point. He could see Reki’s throat bob as he swallowed, swore that he could feel the vibrations in the air when he spoke.

“N-not to mention all the little scrapes and bruises, but those just come and go. These three will probably stick around with me for a while though.”

Langa cautiously drew back, tilting his head to the side. “Don’t you regret the scars?”

“Skating is worth it,” Reki said confidently.

Langa couldn’t say no to the passion in Reki’s eyes. Besides, there was something indescribably exhilarating about the rush of skateboarding, the swoop in his stomach in the second just before he tipped over the edge of the ramp or the few moments after he jumped and just had to trust that he would catch himself again. He could get drunk off the feeling of wind pushing his hair back, stinging his eyes and cooling his skin. It was a constant itch, the pull of familiarity and the nervous excitement of something new.

On top of that, there was the whole aspect of Reki, of the bubbling personality and chaotic caring that had somehow wormed its way into every aspect of Langa’s day. Morning meet ups, getting yelled at by teachers for skateboarding in the halls, lunch breaks spent listening to Reki ramble on about different brands of skateboards and their various advantages (Langa still thought that the boards Reki made were by far the best), full afternoons spent trying out new tricks alone at the skatepark, evenings spent calling or texting. He might have even called this feeling love.

And even though he had only dipped his toes into the world of skateboarding and Reki, it was like the first hit of a drug. And Langa was addicted.

“Hey, Earth to Langa? You there?”

Langa jerked his head up, not realizing that he had gotten lost in his own world for a minute. He tested the words, rolling them around in his mouth before saying them softly. “Thank you, Reki.”

“For… the bandages? Uh, it wasn’t really that big of a deal.”

The corners of Langa’s lips quirked up. “For getting me into skateboarding.”

“Who’s the one being sappy now?” Reki teased fondly, running his hand through the back of his hair. “It’s really nice to have a friend who shares my interests, though. So, I guess thank you too.”

Amber eyes met sapphire ones. They held each other’s gaze for two seconds, then four, then seven. Langa was the first to look away, eyes darting to the darkening sky behind Reki. He could see stars beginning to peek out from behind the bruise-purple clouds.

“I didn’t realize it had gotten this late...” Langa trailed off. 

Reki frowned, reluctance heavy in his voice. “Yeah, we should probably get heading home…” He stood up, brushing off the dirt from his pants. A mischievous grin crossed his face, and he raised his skateboard.

“Race you to the streetlight?”

Langa smiled. “You’re on.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i just wanted to write some mindless renga fluff (after the angst monster that was episode 7) and this was definitely the fastest i've ever written a fanfic,,, hopefully it'll bring me out of my writing slump too !!
> 
> \--
> 
> come talk to me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/c4tboykei)!


End file.
